Presentation & Meeting Skills

Presenting Work-in-Progress vs. Finished Deliverables

Introduction

How you present work should vary dramatically based on how complete it is. Present unfinished work as if it's final, and you'll get unhelpful feedback about polish. Present finished work as tentative, and you'll invite unnecessary rework. Understanding this distinction saves significant time and effort.

Why This Skill Matters

Mismatched presentation creates problems: clients nitpick colors on rough prototypes that should focus on functionality, or they assume "final" work is still malleable leading to endless revisions. Proper framing gets the right feedback at the right time.

Core Principles

  1. Explicitly state completeness level - "This is 30% complete"
  2. Direct focus appropriately - "Focus on flow, ignore visual polish"
  3. Set expectations for what's changeable - "Structure is locked, details are flexible"
  4. Use appropriate fidelity - Sketches for WIP, high-fidelity for final
  5. Name what's placeholder - "Using dummy content here"
  6. Be clear about decision points - "This is what we need to finalize today"

Good Examples

WIP presentation: "This is a rough prototype—30% complete. I'm looking for feedback on: Does the user flow make sense? Are we solving the right problem? Please ignore visual design, copy, and polish—that comes later. What questions or concerns do you have about the approach?"

Final presentation: "This is the complete deliverable, ready to launch. We've addressed all previous feedback and completed thorough testing. This is what will go live unless we identify any critical issues. What questions do you have?"

Why It Works

Sets clear expectations, directs attention appropriately, prevents mismatched feedback.

Bad Examples

Bad WIP: [Shows rough sketch] "Here's the final design!" [Client: "But the colors are off..."]

Bad final: [Shows polished work] "Does this general direction work?" [Client: "Let's completely rethink the layout..."]

Why It's Bad

Mismatched framing invites wrong type of feedback, wastes time, creates confusion.

Tips

  1. Start with explicit completeness level: "This is X% done"
  2. Use visual fidelity to match completeness (wireframes vs. mockups)
  3. Provide list of what feedback you're seeking
  4. Name what's NOT ready for feedback yet
  5. For WIP, emphasize "This WILL change"
  6. For final, emphasize "This IS complete unless critical issues"
  7. Use phrases like "directional," "rough," "refined," "polished," "final"

Connection to Other Skills

Requires setting expectations, managing feedback, instilling confidence despite incompleteness, reading the room to gauge if framing is working, and handling criticism constructively.

Action Items

  • Before showing work, script your framing statement
  • Practice: "This is X% complete. I'm seeking feedback on Y. Please ignore Z for now."
  • Use visual fidelity to signal completeness (wireframes, sketches, vs. polished mockups)
  • After presentations, note: Did people provide the right type of feedback?
  • Adjust framing if feedback consistently misses the mark
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